A Fall TV Show Guide

Once Upon a Time is a show about storybook characters living together in a small village in the real world. The show stars non-story book characters such as Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison), as well as Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin), Prince Charming (Josh Dallas), the Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla), and Rumpelstiltskin (Robert Carlyle). The show began airing in 2011 and is currently on its 5th season. Seasons 1-4 are available for watch on Netflix and the current season’s episodes air on Sundays at 8pm on ABC. This show has mixed reviews, and you’ll either love it or hate it. It takes a few episodes (I’ll say probably around 6) to get hooked, but once you do, you won’t be able to wait to see what happens to these characters next. Well-timed cliffhangers leave the audience on the edges of their seats waiting for the next episode. Once Upon a Time is a unique show and is very fun to watch.

Blindspot

Blindspot is a brand new thriller full of mystery and drama. A naked woman named Jane Doe (Jaimie Alexander) with no memory of her past is dropped into Times Square with her body covered in tattoos. This discovery alerts the FBI and launches a complex and confusing investigation. The FBI follows the map of her tattoos to bring her closer to discovering the truth about where she came from. Kurt Weller (Sullivan Stapleton) leads the FBI investigation and tries to find out why his name is tattooed to Jane Doe’s back. This TV cliffhanger is the brand new show to watch out for every Monday at 10 on NBC.

The Grinder

The Grinder is the new hit comedy series airing on FOX this fall. Starring Rob Lowe and Fred Savage, this story is about a family full of lawyers in their hometown of Boise, Idaho. When Dean Sanderson Jr. (Rob Lowe), the family’s star actor, comes home from playing a famous lawyer on the show The Grinder, his fame is known throughout the town. Being from a family of lawyers and playing a lawyer on TV is very different but Dean Sanderson believes his time on TV leads him to be qualified as an actual lawyer. His little brother, Stewart Sanderson (Fred Savage), the actual lawyer, is put aside in the fame for his brother. This hilarious TV show is family friendly and a great short 30 minutes on Tuesdays at 8:30 on FOX.

New Shows to Avoid

The Muppets

The new versions of the Muppets are not the same as the old joyful puppet animals. These grown up characters have moved on with their lives into new and some might say better things (I would argue that these things are actually worse). Kermit and Ms. Piggy broke up and Kermit has found a new love interest, Denise. The Muppets work together as staff at Ms. Piggy’s late night talk show Up Late with Ms. Piggy. I don’t think a lot of people want to see how the felt puppets they grew up with have grown up themselves. The Muppets should’ve stayed how it was, a show for kids, not a show about weird puppet relationships and difficulties; I was not a fan. It airs on Tuesdays at 8pm on ABC, if you want to check out it out for yourself.

Dr Ken

Dr. Ken is a new show that airs on ABC on Fridays at 8:30. Ken Jeong plays a smart doctor who doesn’t know how to act with patients. He is trying to balance his medical career, his marriage, and his two kids. Although it is a good idea for a show, it is poorly executed even though Ken Jeong was a doctor before starting his acting career. The acting isn’t as good as it could be and the show tries to be funny and still tell a serious story. I have only watched the first episode, in which Dr. Ken is trying to figure out how much freedom he should give his newly licensed 16 year-old daughter. He makes jokes and downloads apps to keep track of her, but in the end he sums up the overall lesson trying to give the episode meaning. This episode was 20 minutes long, and while I was watching it, I kept looking at how much more was left and couldn’t wait for it to finish. Overall, I found this show, which could have been good, disappointing. I don’t think I’ll be watching the next episode.

Blood and Oil

Wake up the Gossip Girl fans because here is a brand new TV show with the one and only Chace Crawford. In this drama, Billy and Cody LeFever (Chace Crawford and Rebecca Rittenhouse) move to Rock Springs in search of a part in the oil boom in North Dakota. While they are there, they meet and get involved with local oil man Hap Briggs (Don Johnson) and his complicated family. Blood and Oil, which airs Sunday nights at 9 on ABC, doesn’t have the best ratings and is being reviewed as a show to avoid. The plot is set in an old-world feel and doesn’t fit in with the young characters. Much of the drama in the show is unnecessary and doesn’t live up to the expectations of ABC shows. Looks like Chace Crawford might need to go back to his Gossip Girl roots if he wants another successful TV show.

Our Favorites

Molly’s Favorites:

Blackish

Blackish is on its second season on ABC and airs after Modern Family on Wednesdays at 9:30. The show focuses on Andre or Dre Johnson (Anthony Anderson), his wife Rainbow or Bow (Tracee Ellis Ross), and his four kids Zoey (Yara Shahidi), Junior (Marcus Scribner), Jack (Miles Brown), and Diane (Marsai Martin). This show is funny but still talks about serious topics, such as the use of the “N” word, gun safety and rights, Black Republicans, the LGBT+ community, and, of course, getting old. This is a show I look forward to watching every week, because the characters are unique and provide hilarious reactions to various topics. If you like Modern Family, I’d bet that you’ll fall in love with the Johnson family in Blackish.

Grandfathered

This new show on Fox at 8pm on Tuesdays is about John Stamos as a bachelor named Jimmy, who just found out that he isn’t only a father, but a grandfather. He has to learn how to be a good influence on his granddaughter Edie and helping his son Gerald (Josh Peck) with his dating life. This show looks really cute after seeing the first episode and ends with a plot twist about Jimmy and Gerald’s mother’s past. Jimmy seems to fall back into a similar character as Jesse in Full House, as being the coolest guy on the show and living a bachelor lifestyle. Hopefully this show will be a success, but we will just have to wait and see.

Stephanie’s Favorites

Scream Queens

From the creator of Glee, Scream Queens is a brand new show airing on FOX. The show centers around the house of Kappa Kappa Tau at Wallace University led by Chanel Oberlin (Emma Roberts). When the Dean Cathy Munsch (Jamie Lee Curtis) threatens the existence of the Kappa Kappa Tau sorority, the mystery of the red devil emerges after 20 years. This modern spin on a whodunit murder classic leaves the audience wondering what will happen every week. With guest appearances from Nick Jonas and Ariana Grande, this show is full of surprises and on track to be the number one show on FOX. This fall thriller is full of comedy, action and drama and airs on FOX every Tuesday at 9.

Scandal

Starting its fifth season on ABC, Scandal is an action packed drama full of crime and politics. Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) is the fixer of Washington DC and dedicates herself to protecting the White House. President Fitzgerald Grant (Tony Goldwyn) and first lady Mellie Grant (Bellamy Young) run the country with help from Chief of Staff, Cyrus Beene (Jeff Perry). Each week this amazing cast races to solve the new problems of high powered people across the city before they become full blown disasters. This is one of my all time favorite shows and it makes me want to be Olivia Pope in the future. If you like Grey’s Anatomy or How to Get Away with Murder, the creator Shonda Rhimes wrote all three of these brilliant TV shows. This romantic and action filled show airs Thursdays at 9 on ABC.